critical facultycrit-i-cal fac-ul-ty
A good working definition would be: The ability to mentally evaluate information, statements, or propositions, to determine if they are accurate, true, or likely.
dojodo-jo
A school for training in Japanese arts of self-defense, such as judo and karate.
On The Critical Faculty:“It is our only guarantee against delusion, deception, superstition, and misapprehension of ourselves and our earthly circumstances.” William Graham Sumner

Tuesday, 22 May 2007

Hip chick Ruth Kelly makes an announcement...

Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly announced today that the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs) is now to be delayed until 1 August.

They will also be for sales of four bedroom and above properties only, presumably this will change later.

Initially sellers would just have to have commissioned a pack, before marketing their property. It would not be necessary to actually have one. So provided you had paid, the sale could go through with never an actual physical pack changing hands.

That telling point suggests where Nu-Lab's heart really lies ;-) a sordid tale of stealth taxation all on it's own.

The packs had been due to become compulsory for all home sales in England and Wales from 1 June.

Packs are to contain: Evidence of title (I would rather trust my solicitor on that one), Copies of any planning consents (they would use that as a selling point anyway), listed building, or building regulations consents (my solicitor). A local search (my solicitor again), Guarantees for any work on the property (fall over themselves - again) plus an energy performance certificate (more interested in last year's gas, electric & council tax bills, also again - from experience - falling over themselves).

So then - utterly pointless legislation really, with a hint of FacismLite - "The fragrance for Statists everywhere.".

Ministers have increasingly tried to justify pushing the packs on the grounds they are a sure fire way to persuade people to make their homes more energy efficient and thus cut carbon emissions and save the world!! – Absolutely.

Has anyone noticed ‘They’ (particularly politicians) are increasingly using anthropogenic global warming (AGW) to justify - and try to stampede voters into - accepting chains round their necks that even the ‘war on terror’ couldn’t make them stomach.

If there were actually any demand for HIPs then surely market forces would have already forced (probably) estate agents into providing them.

Quite frankly, if I were buying a property and wanted a HIP I would get it done myself. I wouldn’t want the seller to provide it - and if I didn’t want one then why should I be forced to have one?

I suppose these inspectors will be yet another cohort, of the army of state clients, dependant on Government force to keep their livelihood milking the rest of us.